Thursday, May 13, 2010

2010 Bowman

At the moment, 2010 Bowman is the hottest product out there. Is it because Bowman finally has a top notch design which separates the set from previous Bowman releases? Nope. Could it be innovative pictures or current Major League players in the checklist? Not even close. Could it be the rookie crop? Yes and no.

The crop of would-be Major League players is the usual hit and mostly miss. I would be delusional if I were to say that half the players in the prospect checklist will even sniff the majors. The veteran cards are only there so this isn't a minor league set.

So what makes this such a hot ticket right now? Future Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has an autograph to chase. That seems to be the current redeeming quality to this set. There may be stars of the future in this set, but that is really up in the air.

All the fuss over Strasburg may be for naught in a few years. For those of us without the benefit of clairvoyance, it is impossible to know if we are looking at a success like Ken Griffey Jr. or a flop like Brien Taylor. For every Harold Baines, there is a Shawn Abner or a Danny Goodwin. Strasburg is what's driving this set right now. I hope that there is more than just him hidden in plain sight.

It's a pretty standard fare for Bowman. Six veterans, two rookies and four prospects. Nothing ultimately stands out for the White Sox. Gartrell, Leesman and Retherford made impressive showings in the spring, but nothing that would make them close to breaking with the club.

There are no surprises in the veteran cards, except that A.J. Pierzynski isn't among the veterans, which is a bit surprising, since he found a way to sneak into the set last year.

A rather unimpressive design and an overall blah showing makes this set the same Bowman set that's been issued the past 15 years. The set will rise and fall based on that Nationals pitcher.

The design itself isn't too bad, but it looks like most Bowman releases. Unlike the majority of the Topps flagship sets, which you can immediately distinguish from one another, Bowman sets tend to blend together year after year. Really, that's my main beef with the design.